


Missed Scenes (and Misunderstandings)

by LitDragonWagon



Series: All Aboard the Feels Train [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hugs, Hunk is best boy, Keith is Trying but bad at feelings, Lance (Voltron) Whump, Misunderstandings, Pidge is a good bro, Socially Awkward Shiro (Voltron), and thinks everything is his fault, bcos he's a good boy okay, boundaries being respected, but it's not, but maybe just a /little/ too much, im the first one to make that a tag??? haha yES, lance is a sad boy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-11
Updated: 2018-01-11
Packaged: 2019-03-03 14:43:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13343388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LitDragonWagon/pseuds/LitDragonWagon
Summary: Lance isn’t sure why Shiro hates him, but he wishes he could figure it out and fix it. Featuring the worst of misunderstandings, Lance’s inferiority complex, Shiro the most awkward bean, Keith the accidental relationship therapist (who solves problems with violence), Hunk n’ Pidge as the brains, and far too many italics. Gen fic.





	Missed Scenes (and Misunderstandings)

**Author's Note:**

> This is a companion fic to One by One, but it can be read as a standalone if you want. It takes place in a nebulous and nonexistent time; pretend that the events of canon up to season 2 basically occurred (other than Shiro disappearing) over the course of like 2 months, then left about a 2 year gap between then and season 3.  
> There’s 4 segments; 1 takes place during seasons 1/2, 2 takes place after Lance joins the Paladin Puppy Pile, 3 takes place during Shiro and Lance’s discussion in One by One, and 4 takes place sometime after said discussion.  
> This is a gen fic. It may look like I’m setting up Shance, but I’m not; the planned Shiro ship for this verse is Shatt, if I end up writing more...anyway, enjoy!

1.

Lance has always admired Shiro, long before he ever met the man (long before he became “Shiro, the champion” rather than just “Takashi Shirogane, the fighter pilot”). That was one reason he was always so jealous of Keith in the Garrison; Keith somehow got Shiro’s attention pretty much to himself, never having done anything that _Lance_ could see that made him worthy, and he didn’t even appreciate it, always greeting Shiro with a frown or a scowl in response to noogies and attempted high fives.

Lance couldn’t stand it.

If he had even a _moment_ of Shiro’s attention he’d use it to tell the older man that Lance really looked up to him. That Lance hadn’t even cared about being a fighter pilot until he saw an interview that starred Takashi Shirogane himself, that showed the man’s passion and ambition. That he was Lance’s hero.

And then, suddenly, Lance was _meeting him_.

He was carrying him out of a space station with his greatest enemy (and it’s almost funny how once Keith was the biggest thing on his plate), he was flying in a giant fucking space lion with him, he was _interacting with him_ , and it was amazing.

Sort of.

Okay, actually it was really fucking scary? He’d built the man up in his mind so much that it was just...so weird actually meeting him. Not bad, just strange. They say never to meet your heroes, but whoever coined that phrase had obviously never met Shiro.

The Shiro he’d interacted with for the first few months in space was the one he’d always imagined. Heroic, an incredible leader, great at taking charge, and someone Lance was willing to follow (and don’t forget more handsome than Lance remembered from the glimpses of the man he’d gotten at the Garrison). But then, time passed, everyone started to get to know each other more, and Lance began to notice things.

Not _bad_ things, of course, because Shiro is amazing, but just...things.

Like how Shiro occasionally walks into things when he’s just woken up; walls, countertops, people--nothing is safe. Lance has managed to avoid being walked into because of how aware of Shiro he is (not because Shiro’s specifically avoiding him, of course not) but he’s been present for Shiro walking into Pidge, Keith, Hunk, and even Allura on multiple occasions.

(The Pidge collision had been particularly funny, as he’d taken them both down, and then just sort of...blinked at Pidge and gone back to sleep.)

Or how Shiro will talk with Keith and Pidge and Hunk, laugh at their jokes and look them in the eyes when they speak and--and he doesn’t really do that with Lance? He’ll kinda chuckle awkwardly sometimes, but not the gut-busting laughter he shares with the others.

And Shiro’ll look in his direction when they talk, sure, but he never makes eye contact with him. Lance doesn’t know why, but in the...probably about 6 months that they’ve known each other, he can count the amount of times Shiro’s made eye contact with him on both hands. It’s pissing him off, to be completely honest (that’s a lie, it seriously hurts), because he’s not sure what he did to make the man uncomfortable. He’s dialed back the fanboy-ing (not that he allowed much of that to come through in the first place), but Shiro just...doesn’t look him in the eye. He’ll look at his nose, his cheeks, an ear, or the fluffy strands of hair on the top of his head, but he won’t look directly at him.

It’s just little things like that--like how Shiro likes to roll up the sleeve on his non-Galra arm, or how his tuft of white hair is in complete disarray every time he takes off his helmet, or how after battles he’ll often pat people on the back or grip shoulders, but never touch Lance.

Lance would like to say that he’s overreacting, but it just...it’s been _months_ now, months of observing and trying to convince himself that he’s just seeing things, but it’s true. Shiro treats him differently than everyone else, is _awkward_ with him in a way that he isn’t with anyone else. He doesn’t know what’s going on, he doesn’t know why Shiro doesn’t like him, doesn’t know what he _did_. But it’s sort of okay.

He hates himself too.

It’s okay.

2.

It’s not okay.

It’s...really fucking weird, sleeping in bed with a guy who hates you.

He’d tried asking permission, sort of. He’d gone in there, spilled his heart out the other man, tried to make him _understand_ , but Shiro hadn’t said anything. It’d been the others who’d invited him into the bed, not the man it belonged to. Still, he’d thought maybe Shiro was more okay with him now. Thought that since he didn’t kick him out, it meant that he could at least tolerate him, that Lance could...interact with him, maybe?

But he’s been _trying_ , okay? He’s been trying for like 2 weeks now, trying to find some kind of excuse to be around Shiro, maybe acclimate the guy to his presence or something. But every time he does, Shiro just kind of...finds some excuse to leave. Or finds some way to be as far from him within the confines of the room as possible. And it’s...it’s _really_ starting to hurt his feelings. He’s trying really hard not to show it, but he’s not sure he’s succeeding. And it’s even worse because he still _really fucking admires Shiro_ , okay? It sucks ass that his hero dislikes him so much.

He’s sitting in some corner of the ship, staring out one of the windows to the abyss of space, and wondering if it’s even worth trying, if maybe he should just give up and live with the realization that his _hero_ fucking _hates him_ , when he’s startled by Keith suddenly sitting down next to him.

“What do _you_ want,” he mumbles, and he’s mortified to find that his voice is wobbly.

Keith doesn’t comment on it though, just hums in response and nudges Lance’s side with his knee. Lance, not in the mood for whatever Keith’s here for (even though their rivalry is far more healthy these days, and more of a fiery friendship than anything, he’s just not in the mood for _anything_ right now), pushes his leg away. Keith nudges him again, and Lance shoves the leg a little harder, turning to glare at the red paladin. Keith stares at him for a moment, then slowly reaches out and nudges him again, hard enough to push him slightly off balance this time.

Lance, the middle child of 5, understands this as a challenge, and soon the two of them are battling it out on the floor.

It ends quickly enough, neither of them really in the mood to turn it into a _real_ spar, and soon Keith is laying over Lance’s stomach, pinning him to the floor with his weight. Lance pushes at him halfheartedly, and Keith gives him a look over his shoulder that’s half challenge, half exasperation, so he lets it go, and relaxes on the cold floor.

“What’s wrong?” Keith finally asks, speaking for the first time.

“Fuck off.” Lance mutters, then he huffs out a breath as Keith elbows him in the stomach.

“What’s wrong?” Keith asks again, and Lance can’t help but laugh, because his teammate is a man of _so_ few words sometimes.

The laugh peters out after a moment though, and he runs a hand through his hair. “It’s just...Shiro.” Lance says.

“Shiro?” Keith asks, obviously confused, and he goes so far as to sit up.

Despite no longer being a captive, Lance remains lying on the floor, eyes on the ceiling. “Yeah. I just…” he huffs out a quiet laugh, “I don’t think he likes me very much.” Which is a fucking _understatement_.

“What the hell makes you think that?” Keith asks, very much disbelieving, and Lance doesn’t know how to say all the little things he’s noticed over the course of the past few months without it being horrifically awkward, so he says nothing, and shrugs instead.

Keith huffs through his nose. “I’m gonna need more explanation than that, man.” And hell, it sounds like he actually cares. Lance would make fun of him for that, but...he’s really not in the mood.

Lance rolls his eyes at him, then sighs as he sits up and holds up 3 fingers. “He never initiates contact with me,” he puts a finger down, “He never looks me in the eye,” he puts another finger down, “And he never laughs at my jokes.” He puts the final finger down. When he puts it like that, it doesn’t sound like a _huge_ deal, but...it really fucking is, because those things are part of how Lance _operates_ , man.

“No one laughs at your jokes,” Keith replies, but it seems to be more of an automatic response than anything, and he looks like he’s actually thinking, so Lance decides to let it go, just this once.

“Okay,” Keith finally says, “That sounds pretty solid,” and Lance’s heart sinks. “But, lemme tell you this.” Keith continues, turning so that he’s facing Lance, rather than parallel to him. “I _know_ Shiro. He’s been like a brother to me since I was 15. I _know_ about the few people he hates, and you’ve never done anything bad enough to be on that kind of a list. Shiro definitely doesn’t hate you, and I’m sure that this is some kind of misunderstanding.” He runs a hand through his shaggy mullet, and Lance considers asking him if he wants a trim. Coran can probably do it, considering that mustache.

“I know it has to be weird hearing this from me, but have you considered just talking to him about it?” Keith says, looking really, _very_ uncomfortable to be wading through these strange things called emotions.

Lance blinks at him in confusion. “Who the hell are you, and what did you do with Keith? Do you mean talking as in his fist talking with my face?” Because that’s...pretty much how Keith works, most of the time.

Keith huffs through his nose again, this time impatiently, then says, “Okay fine, if you don’t believe me, know this at least; Shiro wouldn't sleep in the same bed with someone he hates. If you’re sleeping with us,” Lance keeps his face from reddening through sheer force of will, “Then he doesn’t hate you. Capiche?”

And well, that _does_ make sense, but...Lance isn’t sure that he can believe it, not with all this evidence to the contrary. Plus Keith doesn’t really get emotions, and he sees Shiro through rose tinted lenses--how would _he_ know if Shiro hated Lance anyway? Some of his thoughts must get through to Keith, as he makes an inhuman sound of frustration, and tackles Lance to the floor again. Keith’s such a fucking caveman, solving all his problems with violence instead of words.

Lance tells him as much, and ends up with a face full of floor for his troubles.

3.

He really fucked up today. That’s all he can think as he makes his way from the healing pod room. He’d just been fretfully wandering from banged up teammate to banged up teammate, watching as their injuries slowly (slowly, _so slowly_ ) healed, when Coran suggested that he make his way to the lion hangar, and join the only other person out of the pods, Shiro.

(He’d ignored that Coran remained in the healing room, staring at Allura’s motionless form with a forlorn expression on his face.)

Lance...doesn’t really want to. He doesn’t really want his mistakes thrown back in his face, seeing their banged up leader. He doesn’t really want to seek comfort from someone who doesn’t even like him, and probably blames him for what happened. He already knows, if he’d been just a _little bit faster_ he could’ve--well, it doesn’t matter now. But it’s not like he has anything better to do, and maybe by the time he gets there Shiro will have left, so he can just sit with Blue. He can hear her purring sadly in his mind even now, and he _really_ would like to just sit in her cockpit and let her motherly love wash over him.

But of course, that’s not the case. When he finally makes it to the hangar, one hand clutching his aching ribs, Shiro’s just sitting in front of Black’s enormous nose, staring at nothing. He looks so downtrodden that Lance almost leaves and heads back to the healing pods, because Shiro definitely won’t want to see _him_. But then he remembers Coran’s somber expression, and his steps take him to the black paladin anyway.

When he’s a couple of feet away, Shiro seems to refocus on the real world, and pushes off Black. “Lance! What are you doing out of the pods?” He asks, and he reaches out his hands. It’s probably a subconscious gesture to push Lance away or something, so he ignores it.

“Hey, Shiro,” Lance replies with a smile that’s a few shades off from his normal exuberance, “Yeah, Coran said I shouldn’t go into the pods because too many times is bad for uh, fleshy, frail humans, and it’s just bruising.” And he’s gotten injured more than anyone else on the team, because he’s the worst fighter pilot here. Coran didn’t say that part--he didn’t have to, ‘cause Lance already knew.

“Oh,” Shiro replies, averting his eyes, “Then why aren’t you in bed? Shouldn’t you be resting?”

Yeah sure. Lance would love to go back to an empty bed, reminded of the fact that he fucked up so badly today that everyone else is too injured to leave the pods, and the fact that the only one left to sleep with him would rather be _anywhere_ else. Instead of saying this, though, he shrugs the shoulder that hurts less, and says, “Coran sent me here, I’m not sure why. If you want me to leave, though, I totally can.” And it’s _obvious_ the man wants him to leave, he’s anxious and jumpy and his eyes keep darting across Lance’s body as though he’d rather not see him.

Unexpectedly though, Shiro says, “No, no, I’m happy for the company.” And sits down. He awkwardly pats the ground next to him, looking somewhere next to Lance. “Sit with me?” He asks, and Lance gives him a small smile even though he kind of wants to go somewhere and cry, and sits down next to him. He realizes he sat slightly too close, their knees touching, but either Shiro doesn’t notice, or he thinks it’d be too rude for him to move, because he stays in place.

They sit in silence for a few minutes, and Lance is waiting. Waiting for Shiro to chew him out for his shitty performance that day, waiting for the other man to yell at him, tell him to leave, _something_. When Shiro clears his throat, Lance glances over at him instinctively (instead of flinching like he wants to), and Shiro is...looking him in the eye? Those dark gray eyes are staring directly at him, and he’s so confused that he almost misses Shiro asking, “So, are you feeling okay?”

Automatically, his mouth twitches into its customary smile, if less genuine than it normally looks, because this is _Shiro_ , he _has_ to prove to the man that he’s strong, that he’s good, that he’s _worthy_ \--but the other man doesn’t say anything, just stares at him. And stares. And stares. And Lance feels his smile melt off.

“I just,” he starts, then stops, because he didn’t really mean to speak at all. Hesitantly he starts up again. “It’s just hard being reminded of how much I suck, is all.” He says, then laughs a bit--now Shiro probably thinks he’s an asshole, _and_ agrees that he sucks. Great.

“What do you mean?” Shiro asks softly, kindly, like he has any _right_ when he _hates Lance_.

“You can say it, you know.” Lance says, and he’s really trying to keep his cool, but this is getting ridiculous.

Shiro raises one stupidly perfect eyebrow, and replies, “Say what?” like he doesn’t even _know_.

And Lance can’t take this anymore. “That I don’t belong on the team. That I’m worthless. That you guys don’t need me around. That it would be better off if anyone else had been chosen to pilot Blue. That I’m _useless_.” _That you hate me_. It feels like the words are yanked out of him, and he’s panting and up in Shiro’s face by the time he’s done, but he’s glad now, that it’s all out in the open. He can’t stand this subterfuge--if Shiro’s gonna hate him he should just hate him to his fucking _face_.

But then Shiro’s reeling back, his eyes filling with something like comprehension, and Lance is just _so confused he could scream_. “Lance,” Shiro mumbles, his eyes wide, and Lance just...can’t. He looks away and slumps against Black. He’s so fucking tired, man.

“Just say it.” Lance says wearily--he’s done with this conversation. He needs a fucking nap, in a cold, empty bed, and tomorrow he’ll be able to paste his happy face back on and pretend to be okay. Next to him, Shiro is silent, and Lance closes his eyes, waiting.

“Lance,” Shiro begins, and Lance can’t help but flinch a bit, “I’m _sorry_.” Lance blinks heavy lids in confusion, and turns to look at the black paladin. Shiro’s hunched a bit in on himself, and he looks...oddly small for such a large man, blinking helplessly. Shiro speaks, and he sounds breathless, like someone just punched him in the gut, “I-I didn’t know you--none of that is true!”

Yeah, sure it isn’t. And Lance is the lost prince of Altea.

Shiro shoots up from the floor (Lance is too tired to recoil, but he feels his shoulders twitch in an aborted flinch, and he winces), paces a few frantic steps back and forth in front of Lance, then crouches down in front of Lance, placing a hand on his knee. This is the closest they’ve probably _ever_ been unless one of them was injured, or they were mid-battle, and Lance doesn’t know what to do with that.

“Who was the one who shot the bomb trigger out of Krundav’s hand from two kilometers away?” Shiro asks abruptly, and Lance blinks at him in confusion. Shiro was there, why’s he asking Lance?

“Me, but--” he begins with a frown, but Shiro cuts him off.

“Do you think anyone else on the team could do that?” he asks, and Lance pauses to think about it.

“Well, given enough time, you or Hunk could probably--” he says, brows furrowed, and Shiro cuts him off again.

“No, Lance. We couldn’t. My weapon is short range only, and Hunk’s is made for laying down heavy fire, not precision. Not to mention, none of us could hit something that far away with any degree of accuracy. There would’ve been major loss of life if you hadn’t been there.” And okay, but what does that have to do with anything? Shiro looks at him, as though looking for comprehension, but doesn’t seem to find what he wants, because he continues.

“Who did Blue allow to fly her?” Shiro asks.

“Me, but--” Lance begins, and Shiro cuts him off again.

“Keith knew her for months and she chose you over him. Without you, we never would’ve even made it off Earth alive, and the Galra would still be terrorizing those parts of the galaxy that we’ve freed. Civilizations are freed because you allowed Voltron to take its first steps.” Is...did Shiro just...is he implying that _Lance_ was the catalyst for Voltron? That’s ridiculous. Insane. It was...it was obviously Keith, this is stupid.

“Who managed to cheer up Pidge on her birthday?” Shiro asks with a quirk of his lips.

“Me.” Lance replies automatically.

“Who managed to get Keith to come out of his shell through arguing?”

“Me.” And it’d taken a hell of a lot of effort too, that boy had a shell like a particle barrier.

“Who’s been gathering Hunk cooking ingredients at great personal risk every time we get on a new planet?”

“Me.”

“Who’s the final piece of the Paladin Puppy Pile?”

That one he’s a little unsure about, if only because he’s never heard ‘Paladin Puppy Pile’ before, but probably “...me?”

“Yes, you.” Shiro says with a warm smile, and Lance can feel an answering one begin to appear on his face, despite the tears that are gathering in his eyes. “You’re our sharpshooter, the first lion pilot, and you’re an optimist with social skills on a ship full of introverts, pessimists, and people who are so smart they’re stupid. You keep us from clashing, you help us all get along, and you glue us all together. Of course we need you! You’re team, you’re family!”

More softly, Shiro says, “You’re not worthless Lance, you’ve never been. And useless? You’re the furthest thing from it.”

And Lance is, this is, he can’t. He _can’t_ , this is probably the most validating moment in his _entire life_ and it just--family? Shiro thinks of _him_ as family? Before he knows it he’s letting out this (terribly ugly, probably) sob as he throws himself into Shiro’s arms. A second later, Shiro’s arms come to wrap around him as well, gently, and shut up he’s not crying, you’re crying.

He’s...he’s useful. Their team leader said he’s _useful_ and--maybe...m-maybe Shiro doesn’t hate him anymore? Lance tightens his arms around the other man.

He’s still not sure what he did in the first place, but if he can have this anyway, if Shiro forgives him for whatever he did, then this moment...this moment might change _everything_.

4.

But very little changes.

Shiro still mostly avoids him, though he’ll kind of...look in his direction before he leaves, like he’s waiting for something? Shiro still doesn’t touch him, and avoids eye contact with him, but he’ll do these little smiles in Lance’s general direction. It’s all very fucking odd, and Lance is really fucking confused.

Like, they’d had a bonding moment, hadn’t they? Shiro cradled him in his arms and everything, so obviously they’re cool, right? But...apparently they aren’t.

When Lance is confused, he tends to do one of 2 things; he either angsts about it, or he goes to people smarter than him to get answers. He’s already tried brooding, and it hasn’t gotten anywhere, so now it’s time to look for smart people. Fortunately for him, he knows of at least 2 on this very ship.

oOo

The moment he walks in, looking a little worse for wear, Hunk sets him up with a hug. He smells like oil and machinery and a little bit like something sweet and _home_ , and this is, among other reasons, exactly why he loves Hunk. Because Hunk is _the best_ , and Lance will straight up fight anyone who disagrees with him.

Upon realizing that he’s going to be there for a while, Pidge sets him up with a job; he’s to hold the screwdriver until she demands “screwdriver” in an imperious tone. Joke’s on her though, Lance likes being useful, so this job is actually making him feel much better (which, in retrospect, she probably knows). Hunk, after hovering for a few moments, moves a few feet away to another table, picking up the welding tools, and pulling his mask back over his face.

They work in mostly silence, other than Pidge’s quiet cursing and demands for the screwdriver, and Hunk’s occasional grunts of effort when a piece of the...whatever the fuck it is they’re making isn’t cooperating, but eventually Lance decides he should probably talk about what’s bugging him, preferably before he loses his nerve. Now, how to say it so that he doesn’t sound like an idiot or an asshole...maybe he should do a bit of a lead in or something. Just...ease them into the idea.

“Guys, I think Shiro’s uncomfortable around me,” he blurts, then winces. Nice.

“Huh? What makes you think that?” Hunk asks, removing his welding mask and moving back over to them. He absently places a hand on Lance’s shoulder as he leans over him to see what Pidge is doing, and she leans closer to Lance as she grabs a cup of...something that smells suspiciously like coffee, that’s sitting off to Lance’s right. She takes a huge gulp, then places it down out of the way, and Lance is a little jealous because he didn’t even know they _had_ space coffee.

Lance takes a couple of minutes to talk about what’s been happening lately--explaining Shiro’s original behavior, and how he’s confused that it hasn’t changed since their conversation, or his introduction into Shiro’s bed. Throughout, Hunk nods and “mhm”s in all the right places, and Pidge continues fiddling with her machinery, but her head is cocked in his direction so he knows she’s listening. “It’s really odd and I just don’t really understand,” Lance concludes, “But I’m not sure what I did wrong.”

Pidge pauses in her work, handing him the screwdriver, and raises a hand to impatiently swipe her hair behind one ear. “Lance,” she says slowly, “You’ve done absolutely nothing wrong, and I can guarantee that Shiro doesn’t hate you.” Lance tilts his head to the left, questioningly. Sure, he came to her for a bit of guidance, but her social advice isn’t always the most sound...Pidge can apparently sense his disbelief, because she takes off her glasses and rubs her eyes in exasperation.

Hunk pulls him into a side hug, and he enjoys the contact for a moment before refocusing on Pidge, who’s glaring at him. He blinks innocently at her in a roundabout apology, and she snorts and puts her glasses back on. “Okay, I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but...have you realized that Shiro’s like…” She pauses, looking for the words, then says, “He’s a total awkward turtle.”

Lance blinks at her in confusion. “Um. No he isn’t?” He asks more than says. Because, well. Obviously not true.

“Yeah, I kinda realized it sometime between our first diplomatic mission and the second time he walked into me and just kinda stared at me.” Hunk offers as he sits down next to Lance, pulling the blueprint Pidge is working with across the table toward him.

“No fucking way.” Lance says, maybe a little breathlessly.

“Yes fucking way.” Pidge nods, pulling the blueprint back across the table and glaring at Hunk, who (in a show of true strength) just blinks at her ire, then smiles. “He’s a total, textbook introvert, so he often avoids interaction, not because he dislikes _anyone_ , but because that’s just how he likes it. And he’s all about boundaries being respected, especially after his time in captivity.” Pidge says, protectively flattening the hand that isn’t now holding coffee over the blueprint Hunk is so interested in. “If you want him to stop being weird around you, you’re gonna have to take the first steps.”

Lance blinks wildly at her and shoves the screwdriver blindly in her direction, waving it impatiently until she reluctantly relinquishes her hold on the blueprints and takes it, then stands and paces for a couple of seconds. What kind of--has he _not_ taken several steps??? Does Shiro not hate him and he’s just super oblivious, or were Lance’s steps actually missteps and Shiro _does_ hate him? He doesn’t knooooow--he lets out a frustrated whine, then whips around to face Pidge and Hunk and demands, “Well, how’d you two do it then?”

Hunk grins sheepishly and mumbles, “I think I lured him in with food?” as he again reaches for the blueprints, and Pidge whacks him on the hand with the screwdriver. Which, yeah, Lance can totally see why Shiro’s weak for Hunk’s food ‘cause it’s great, but that’s not something he can work with, so he turns to Pidge.

Pidge blinks mildly at him and says, “I coerced him through blackmail.” For a moment Lance almost believes her, but then she rolls her eyes and amends, “I met him through my brother when I was 8 and he’s been like an older brother to me ever since. I kind of cheated the system.” Smug little shit. And he can’t use that either!

“Oh _jeez_ ,” he wheezes, hands reaching up to thread through his hair and pull uselessly. “I’ve gotta go, I’m gonna...I don’t know, I’ll figure this out.” He declares. Then he all but runs out of there to plan.

oOo

He...is bad at planning. It was stressing him out, so he took a nap, and now he’s exhausted but unable to sleep and up at fuck o’clock in the morning and his entire sleep schedule’s gonna be off and then they won’t be able to form Voltron because he’ll be so tired that he’ll fall asleep in his lion and he’s gonna get _pimples_. He’s walking with his eyes mostly closed, and so focused on his sleepy rant that he doesn’t even realize there’s an obstacle in his path until he almost crashes into the guy. A metal hand reaches out and stops him about a foot before he can.

Still mostly asleep, he cracks his eyelids open a sliver and notes little more than ‘poofy white hair, pretty eyes, _hella_ muscular arms’, then closes his eyes and demands that those muscular arms carry him to the kitchen. There’s a pause, during which his brain begins to kick into gear, but then he’s being carried bridal style to the kitchen.

By the time they get there he’s more awake (from being held to that s t r o n g chest amirite), and as soon as Shiro lets him go, he hastily takes a step away, frowning. “I’m really sorry dude,” he says contritely, because he _literally_ just talked to Pidge a few hours ago, and here he is, basically stomping all over her advice. God, why can’t he do _anything_ right, all he has to do is honor Shiro’s personal space and not be an asshole and he couldn’t even--

Shiro laughs lightly, then says with surprising cheer, “Nah, it’s okay.”

Lance looks down at his blue lion slippers, and says, “No, it’s really not, I should respect your boundaries.” Because this isn’t something he can let slide, he fucked up again.

There’s a pause, where Lance isn’t really sure what Shiro’s thinking, and then the man speaks up in an unexpectedly hesitant voice, “I...have very few boundaries? And you’ve always respected all of them. So, um. Good job?” And there’s a hand patting him gently on the head.

Lance, surprised by the contact, looks up and finds that Shiro’s hand is still hovering in the air above his head, and Shiro has ducked down slightly so he’s eye level with Lance--he looks so confused and slightly wide eyed, like he’s just now trying to figure out how to interact with other humans for the first time and _wow_ , Shiro really _is_ an awkward turtle, isn’t he? It’s...it’s strangely adorable, what the fuck. Lance wants to wrap him up in bubble wrap and protect him from the world. What if people try to take advantage of him or something???

“Can I hug you?” Lance blurts, because Shiro is looking oddly vulnerable right now and Lance would feel better if he was touching him and now just seems like a good time to ask, and before he can even wince at his latest fuck-up, Shiro hastily replies, “Of course?” In a tone that implies he’s confused the question even needed to be asked.

Which, in turn, confuses Lance, because up until now they’ve had a very clear “no touch, no eye contact, only necessary conversation” policy, and Shiro’s acting like it never existed.

“But you--before, you said?” Lance stutters, and Shiro blinks at him.

“What do you mean? _I_ never said anything about not hugging people,” Shiro says, tilting his head inquisitively to the side. White hair falls into his eyes, and he tucks it behind his right ear. His dark gray eyes are both puzzled, and strangely forlorn.

And...that’s true, but it was a kind of unspoken agreement. Wasn’t it? “If you don’t have a problem hugging me t-then why do you never pat me on the back like everyone else or-or look me in the eye or t-talk to me?” Lance asks shakily, and he’s horrified to find that there’s tears prickling in his eyes.

However, Shiro looks even _more_ horrified for some reason.

“I-I thought that _you_ were uncomfortable with _me_!” He exclaims, and Lance blinks at him in confusion.

“ _Why?_ ” He demands, and he means for it to come out angry, but it comes out several shades too desperate for that. The tears probably don’t help either.

“I don’t know, you just seemed really skittish so I thought maybe the Galra arm or the fact that I was an alien prisoner bothered you, so I thought I’d give you some space?” Shiro blurts.

“I have all the _space_ I can handle.” Lance automatically puns with a watery smile, and Shiro snorts out an inelegant and panicked laugh.

Shiro’s hands are fluttering in the air as he tries to explain, and he has a really alarmed expression on his face, and honestly Lance has been angsting for like _8 months_ over a misunderstanding--he can’t help but laugh.

Shiro’s staring at him, obviously baffled and distressed, so Lance hastily explains, “This is such a relief, I thought you fucking hated me!” with a happy grin. And it really _is_ funny, but Shiro gets this contrite expression.

“Lance, I _really_ don’t, and I’m _really_ sorry you felt that way.” He says dismally.

“No, it’s totally fine!” Lance says, still riding the high of finding out Shiro actually _does_ like him, but Shiro just seems to deflate, curling into himself a bit as he wraps his arms around his middle.

“Lance, I’m seriously so fucking sorry.” He murmurs mournfully, and wow no Lance can’t have that, Shiro should never be sad.

So Lance reaches forward and wraps his arms around the taller man. Shiro’s arms come to wrap around him, and it’s _great_ , the man’s a great hugger and Lance wishes he’d known Shiro didn’t hate him so they could’ve been doing this for months--he’s still crying a bit and it seems like Shiro’s breath is hitching, but...this is nice. For someone as used to touch as Lance is, having grown up in a huge family and all, space has had him pretty touch starved. It’s been better since he started sleeping in the...Paladin Puppy Pile, was it? But yeah, knowing that he can get hugs whenever he wants from Hunk has helped, but knowing he can get them from Shiro too (who _doesn’t hate him,_ this is _amazing_ ) is a great addition.

And Shiro’s hugs are super soothing, he smells like an odd mix of metal and the clean scent of soap and something a little fruity and it’s just _super nice_ and has Lance mentioned that he’s _super_ tired...

oOo

When Lance wakes up, for a moment he’s hella confused. The lighting’s all wrong, way brighter than it should be. He’s not in his own bed, and he’s not on top of the pile of limbs he’s used to; it’s way too warm for him to be alone, and Keith hasn’t pushed him off of his feet yet. So. What the fuck’s going on?

He peels open his eyelids and attempts to sit up, then cranes his head and blinks owlishly at the metal arm over his shoulders that’s pinning him down.

Shiro?

He guesses he must’ve fallen asleep hugging the man, and Shiro decided to sleep on the common room couches? Probably because they were closer. Huh. He totally drooled on Shiro’s chest in his sleep, whoops. He feels, like...super happy. Floaty happy, sleepy happy, relieved happy, just _really really_ happy, alright? He can’t think of a better way to describe it; he just woke up, he’s not firing on all cylinders, okay? But it’s still just as wonderful as it was yesterday--the realization that Shiro doesn’t hate him, _never_ hated him. He’s already smiling just thinking about it.

He turns his head to yawn, and almost jumps out of his skin when he spots Keith sitting on the floor about 10 feet away, judging them (or probably just Lance. Lance and his _drool_ ). Keith blinks slowly at him, quirking an eyebrow, and Lance frowns at him. God, Keith’s such a fucking cat--it’s those goddamn Galra genes. Or maybe cats and Keith just have similarities because cats are cute assholes, and Keith is...an asshole.

Keith creeps closer on all fours, then murmurs, “See, I fucking _told_ you so.” with a smug smirk. The little _shit_. Lance glares at Keith, then wriggles free of Shiro to tackle the red paladin onto the floor.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I’m having way too much fun with this verse tbh. I’ve already started on a Keith section -_-” someone stop me. The plan atm is to have a fic for each of the paladins, developing their characters more and showing how they bonded with each other. Of course, the timeline is gonna be an absolute horror show bcos these things are interlinking TT^TT.  
> Anyway, visit me on Tumblr! I’m LitDragonWagon there too--my art blog is Lit’s Art Blog, and my main blog is Hunk’s Blue Space Cookies.


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